


The Gold Before The Podium

by BeautyButterBae



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Canon Related, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Morning Cuddles, Nervousness, Sharing a Bed, Wedding Planning, Wedding Rings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2016-12-13
Packaged: 2018-09-08 10:38:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8841337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeautyButterBae/pseuds/BeautyButterBae
Summary: Yuuri’s nerves take over on the morning of the first day of the Grand Prix Final while Victor is out on the beach. When he returns, together, they find a way to relax and prepare for the quickly approaching Short Program.
Cuddling and talks of marriage are part of the solution.
(Aka thinking about the future helps Yuuri deal with the present.)





	

**Author's Note:**

> [Unbeta'ed]
> 
> I wanted to write something short and sweet before the Grand Prix Final properly begins.
> 
> It's definitely short.
> 
> Hope you also find it sweet and enjoy~

Closing the door to their room, Victor makes sure to hold the doorknob and softly guide the door into its proper place without raising any noise.

He slowly removes his coat and lays it on his made, as yet unused, bed, his scarf following suit.

Stepping out of his boots, he hears the sheets rustle and raises his gaze to meet the figure in the bed.

"Where were you?" Yuuri asks quietly, his voice still raw and sleepy but with a clear note of concern.

"You're not asleep?" Victor smiles, shaking his head at his effort to remain silent. "I was out in the city for a bit. Wanted to get a breath of fresh air. Mind if I join you?"

"Please do." Yuuri nods, shutting his eyes and scooting to the side to make enough space for his partner.

Victor slips onto the bed from the side, facing Yuuri's back and quickly flexing his knees to fit the bend in Yuuri's legs, his arm loosely draped over the younger skater's waist. Yuuri leans into the touch, resting his back at the warmth of Victor's chest.

"You smell like the sea." Yuuri notices softly.

"The seaside looks amazing at sunrise." Victor smiles, burying his nose in Yuuri's hair.

"You'll have to show me one day." Yuuri pulls Victor's hand and holds his palm close to his chest. "How much time do we have left?"

"Two hours at the very least." Victor assures, knowing that Yuuri prefers to eat small, light breakfasts before competitions, meaning that they don't need to rush to the buffet at the ground floor any time soon. "You can sleep some more."

"It'd be nice if I could." Yuuri sighs heavily, closing his fingers around Victor's hand tighter.

"Yuuri, you'll do great, trust me." Victor pronounces softly, pressing his lips to the back of Yuuri's head.

"I do trust you. But what if my 'great' isn't great enough?" Yuuri voices pensively, his breath growing heavier. "I mean look who I'm up against. All consecutive gold or silver medalists."

"I'd like to remind you that you won silver against Chris and placed higher than Yurio in the short program during the Rostelecom cup." Victor insists, closing his eyes and brushing his nose against the dark strands at the back of Yuuri's head. "You have nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, and I also lost to Phichit in China, lost to _both_ of JJ's programs, and Otabek's achievements this season are intimidating to say the least." He grasps Victor's hand tighter. "I've only gotten a silver medal so far and I'm starting to wonder whether that wasn't just luck. Whether it wasn't all a fluke."

"Yuuri. I don't believe in luck." Victor declares firmly. "I do, however, believe in _you_. You don't give yourself enough credit. This isn't the first time you're competing in the Grand Prix Final and you have every right to stand on this stage again. You have the skills. You have the stamina. And I _know_ you have the confidence to show everyone how good you are."

"I know, you're probably right." Yuuri inhales and exhales deeply, but unevenly, the way he always does when he's trying to calm himself down and fails. He curls up against Victor, as though trying to hide. "I'm just… afraid."

"Don't be afraid." Victor requests and it's soft and gentle. It's not a command. It's a plea. He slowly strokes down the top of Yuuri's palm with his thumb. "Don't think about others and their achievements. Think about yourself and how good _you_ are and you'll realize that you can leave everyone far behind you in terms of points. You have _everything_ you need to win. You only need to embrace it."

"I'm sorry, I always get nervous right before competitions." Yuuri sighs sadly, squeezing Victor's hand harder, leaning even deeper into his chest. "It's what ruined everything last year. I'm not just worried about the other skaters, I'm worried that my own mind, my own weakness will take over at the worst moment and I won't be able to regain control. I know it's unreasonable and I know it's irrational, but I can't help it."

"Yuuri." Victor hums quietly, confidently. He gently runs his fingers up and down the gold band around Yuuri's finger. "Think of the ring. It's a good luck charm, isn't it?"

"Yeah. It's so that I don't overthink things." Yuuri remembers on an exhale.

"Exactly." Victor squeezes his hand this time, pressing his lips to his hair.

Yuuri breathes deeper again now, but calmer, focused.

His grip around Victor's hand loosens.

"I want to have a spring wedding." Yuuri pronounces with certainty.

Victor's eyes widen. This isn't exactly what he had in mind. He smiles regardless. "Tell me more."

"Both of us will wear white tuxedos and…" Yuuri thinks for a moment. "Bowties."

"I know a tailor." Victor nods with a grin. "Outdoors or indoors?"

"Definitely outdoors." Yuuri states firmly. "Though I'm not sure where exactly yet."

"That's alright, we can think of the details later." Victor assures, pressing a kiss into the small area of skin behind Yuuri's ear. "Any other things you'd like?"

"I want to invite everyone we know." Yuuri announces. "Which, for me, isn't very many people, so we could also invite Yakov and Yurio and Phichit and Celestino and Chris and maybe even JJ and his fiancée? Or… Why don't we just invite everyone we've met this season? I mean, I'm sure not everyone will come but won't that be symbolical?"

"So, you want to show off, huh?" Victor hums.

"Our wedding? Of course I want to show it off. It deserves everyone's attention." Yuuri admits and laughs for the first time that morning. Victor isn't sure if Yuuri himself noticed but he can feel how his body relaxed when he began the topic of their wedding and he could swear it's one of those sweet things about Yuuri that he's still discovering, but that make him fall in love all the more.

"Did you think where we'd hold it? Which country?" he urges him to continue, interlacing his fingers with Yuuri's, now loose and willing.

"See, I was thinking about it actually." Yuuri begins and it's all but conversational, as though his pre-performance fear was never there. "I'd like to hold it in Hasetsu. In April. That's when we first met, remember? I mean, _technically_ we met before, but let's ignore the banquet for now. If we could organize it then, that would be really…"

"Romantic." Victor finishes with a grin, burying his face in the crook of Yuuri's shoulder. "That would be really really romantic, Yuuri."

"…I like romantic." Yuuri confesses and Victor knows that he's blushing even without looking at him.

"I know. I like romantic, too." Victor admits with a brief chuckle.

"Yeah." Yuuri audibly smiles and runs his hand through Victor's hair and the older skater leans into his touch. "But then, if we're going to invite so many people, shouldn't we choose a more convenient location? Hasetsu is really out of the way and I feel like many people would say no just because it'd be difficult to get halfway around the world and then halfway through Japan just for a wedding."

"You have a point." Victor admits and thinks for a moment. "What if we organize it in the city where the World Championships will take place? Then no one will have an excuse not to come."

"That's an idea." Yuuri agrees enthusiastically. "But then… it's less meaningful. Especially if it's in a country to which neither of us have connections."

"That's also true." Victor nods sadly.

"Do you think…" Yuuri pauses for a moment. "Would it be weird to have two ceremonies? One private, family one, and one for everyone else?"

"Normally I'd say yes, but that's actually a really cute idea." Victor chuckles. "Let's consider it."

"Okay." Yuuri smiles. "Chris would be your best man, right?"

"Probably." Victor hums. "And Phichit would be yours?"

"Yeah, definitely." Yuuri confirms. "Should we hold a joint bachelor party? I mean, we could do them separately but they would end up quite small so…"

"What if we consider last year's banquet our bachelor party?" Victor laughs.

"No way! I want to _remember_ my own bachelor party." Yuuri groans, and turns to face Victor so that his partner can see that he's smiling.

"Okay." Victor smiles as their gazes lock.

"Victor," Yuuri cups his cheek, the corners of his lips raised and his eyes smiling as he speaks softly. "Let's win gold at this Grand Prix Final."

Victor nods and holds Yuuri's hand so that he can kiss his inner palm. "I'm sure we will."

They both know that they will get married regardless of Yuuri's place on the podium.

Yuuri pulls Victor in for a kiss and it's soft and slow and exactly the thing that helps them get their minds off of the other competitors.

"I think I'll sleep some more after all." Yuuri announces when they pull away.

"Good choice." Victor admits, one of his hands returning Yuuri's waist, the other supporting his head as he watches Yuuri lie down and close his eyes. "I'm looking forward to the wedding."

"Me, too." Yuuri smiles, fitting his body into Victor's warm shape.

Ever so gently brushing his hand through Yuuri's hair, Victor whispers. "Yuuri Nikiforov."

"Victor Katsuki." Yuuri grins in turn.

"I think I really like the sound of Victor Katsuki." Victor admits, the tips of his fingers slowly running down Yuuri's cheek.

"Do you?" he wonders. "But do you know the meaning behind the name 'Katsuki'?"

"I'm assuming you're about to tell me." Victor chuckles quietly.

"If you were Victor Katsuki, your name would literally mean 'Victor', 'win', 'life'." Yuuri explains carefully.

"Of course." Victor smiles nonchalantly. "Because the moment I become your husband I will win at life."

"Oh. My. God." Yuuri actually groans. "I knew it was coming, but that's _so_ sappy."

"It really is." Victor laughs. "But that's why you love me."

"One of the many reasons." Yuuri admits.

They lay similarly to how they did before, but now, the entire tension is gone; Yuuri's body lax on the bed, loosely holding onto Victor's hand, and the latter, cordially pressed to his back. If not for the looming Grand Prix Final, it would feel almost like a weekend, Victor thinks.

"Wake me up when it's time. I'll be ready to show everyone our love by then." Yuuri asks confidently.

"I will." Victor presses a kiss to his cheek.

"I love you, Victor." Yuuri whispers, squeezing his hand lightly.

"I love you, too, Yuuri." Victor squeezes back.

They both feel the gold around their respective ring fingers. It's warm and full of the sweetest promises.

Victor comes to the same conclusion he's come to many times in the last eight months:

The chance to become Yuuri's coach was a victory in itself.

He now becomes aware of a certain development:

The reality of becoming Yuuri's husband is the greatest victory of his life.

It's the only victory that truly matters.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the shortest story I've ever written for this fandom, but damn, I had a mighty need to put this idea into writing. I just really like thinking that Yuuri would be calmed by thinking about the wedding.
> 
> Thank you for reading and if you had any thoughts and/or feelings while reading this tiny lil' ball of fluff then I would love to hear them! <3
> 
> I hope you have a skate-tastic week and keep enjoying the beautiful show that is Yuri on Ice. ^^


End file.
